The Green Fields of France
by BigD1987
Summary: While touring a war cemetery in France, Ash, Misty and Brock come across the grave of one William McBride. This is an anti-war story. Song: "The Green Fields of France" by Dropkick Murphys.
1. Default chapter

Disclaimer: "Pokemon" is the intellectual property of Satoshi Tajiri, and the copyright in the United States is owned by Warner Bros.

"The Green Fields of France", AKA "No Man's Land" was written by Eric Bogle.

Ages:

Ash: 20

Misty: 20

Brock: 25

Ash Ketchum walked through the silent cemetery in Somme, France. The wind was blowing, and he had to wear a jacket. His girlfriend, Misty Waterflower, and his friend Brock Harrison accompanied him. He had to hold on to his hat when a strong gust of wind almost blew his hat off. It was cold and windy, not a good day to visit something like a cemetery. Around them stood countless white crosses, standing resolutely, as they had been for nearly 100 years. It was tranquil, despite the wind. But this belied the field's history. Nearly a century ago, this area would have been a wasteland with two sides of trenches facing each other and in between, an area called "No Man's Land". The name was fitting. It was a killing field where men were butchered like animals, mowed down by machine guns, and suffered through poison gas attacks. It would have been strewn with barbed wire, land mines, obstacles and dead and dying men. But now, it was peaceful and green. Life had returned. On the former battlefield, poppies grew. The trenches were gone, mostly filled in by time and human intervention. But here in this cemetery was the true reminder of the war: countless white crosses that occupied a field in northern France. Just the thought of it put a chill in his bone.

"Sad, isn't it?" asked Misty, who was holding his hand.

"Yeah," he replied. "And for what? Colonialism?"

"But it's sad that they died at such a young age, too." She said, he red hair, which went down her back, blowing in the wind.

"You're right. The young ones are always the ones to fight. They have their whole lives ahead of them, and in an instant it can be extinguished." He replied.

"Places like this always make you wish there was no such thing as war." Brock said.

"Pika." Replied Pikachu, the last "a" trailing off sadly. Suddenly, he perked up and ran away.

"Pikachu? Where ya goin'?" Ash yelled at the electric mouse, running after it. Brock and Misty followed him. Soon, they came across a gravestone that Pikachu found. It was a lonely grave, like all the other ones, so Ash, Misty and Brock weren't too sure about why Pikachu had come to this particular grave.

"Pika." He said, pointing at it. Misty looked at it and read,

"William McBride, Northern Irish Regiment of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Born 1897, died 1916. So young, only 19." She said. After reading it, she and Brock left. However, Ash continued to look at the gravestone. It intrigued him. Who was this person? Was he important? Or was he just one of the nameless thousands? It reminded him of something.

"William McBride." he said softly. Without thinking, he began to sing something. The words that came out of his mouth were haunting. He had heard the name before. He sang,

_"Oh, how do you do, young Willy McBride?_

_Do you mind if I sit here down by your graveside?_

_And rest for a while in the warm summer sun_

_I've been walking all day, and I'm nearly done_

_And I see by your gravestone you were only nineteen_

_When you joined the great fallen in 1916_

_Well I hope you died quick_

_And I hope you died clean_

_Or, Willy McBride, was it slow and obscene?"_

Misty overheard what he was singing. She asked him, "Ash, what is it?" She walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her for a second, but kept singing. She looked at the grave again, putting her head on her boyfriend's left shoulder and her left hand on his right as he sang,

_"Did they beat the drums slowly?_

_Did they play the fife lowly?_

_Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down?_

_Did the band play the last post and chorus?_

_Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest?"_

Brock came up to the two, but thinking they were having a romantic moment, he stepped away at first to give them some time, but then he heard Ash singing. He stopped and looked at the grave. Ash continued to sing on.

_"And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind?_

_In some loyal heart is your memory enshrined?_

_And though you died back in 1916_

_To that loyal heart you're forever nineteen_

_Or are you a stranger without even a name? _

_Forever enshrined behind some old glass pane?_

_In an old photograph torn, tattered, and stained_

_And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame"_

Recognizing the song, Misty and Brock felt compelled to sing along with him in the chorus, creating a haunting sound.

_"Did they beat the drums slowly?_

_Did they play the fife lowly?_

_Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down?_

_Did the band play the last post and chorus?_

_Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest?"_

The two stopped singing as Ash sang the third verse of the song. They started singing again when he sang the chorus again.

_"The sun's shining down on these green fields of France_

_The warm wind blows gently and the red poppies dance_

_The trenches have vanished long under the plow_

_No gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now_

_But here in this graveyard that's still no man's land_

_The countless white crosses in mute witness stand_

_To man's blind indifference to his fellow man_

_And a whole generation were butchered and damned_

_Did they beat the drums slowly?_

_Did they play the fife lowly?_

_Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down?_

_Did the band play the last post and chorus?_

_Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest?"_

Misty, overcome with emotion, shed a single tear. She wiped it away. It was just so emotional. These were people who had died for almost no reason. She looked at Ash, and she saw that Ash had several tears running down his cheeks. The moment was just so powerful. He ignored the tears and continued to sing.

_"And I can't help but wonder, young Willy McBride_

_Do all those who lie here know why they died?_

_Did you really believe them when they told you the cause?_

_Did you really believe that this war would end wars?_

_Well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame_

_The killing and dying, it was all done in vain_

_Oh, Willy McBride, it all happened again_

_And again, and again, and again, and again"_

Seeing that Ash was crying yet not even breaking down, she let her tears come down in streams as she and Brock helped Ash sing the last chorus.

_"Did they beat the drums slowly?_

_Did they play the fife lowly?_

_Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down?_

_Did the band play the last post and chorus?_

_Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest?"_

After the song ended, Ash offered Misty a handkerchief. "I'm sorry." She said, apologizing to him for seeming emotional.

"Don't be." He replied. "You saw how much I was crying, but did you see me break down? No. It's natural to do so. And the song just brings tears to your eyes anyway."

"It's ironic that they called it 'The War To End All Wars', and yet there's still war to day." Brock said.

"Yeah. But that doesn't mean we can't try to change that." Replied Ash. "Our generation can make this world better for everyone." Ash embraced the still crying Misty. "Come on, let's go." He said, He put his arm around her waist and led her away from the grave. Not wanting to seem inconsiderate, he said to the gravestone, "Rest in peace, Willie." Pikachu laid a flower at the grave and said a rosary before running off to its master. However, something compelled him to look back. He saw a figure of a man dressed in a British army uniform from the time period. Pikachu was transfixed. He and the figure stared at each other for a few momentss before Misty asked,

"What's wrong, Pikachu?" At that point, she and Ash looked back and saw the soldier. They stood there for what seemed like hours. Their faces showed the surprise they felt at being confronted by this figure. Finally, the figure saluted them, to their surprise once again. Then it faded away. By now, Brock had gone ahead of them. He turned around and saw them.

"What is it?" He asked them. Startled, they turned around.

"Oh, um, nothing." Replied Ash. Brock was skeptical, but he decided not to press the matter. Ash looked at his girlfriend. She asked him,

"Who do you think that was?" Ash could probably tell already.

"Willie," he said. "He was probably thanking us for that little tribute."

"He's welcome." She said. The two walked out of the cemetery, knowing that they will never forget this experience.

The end.

Well, how'd you like it? Please send me a review. If it made you cry, then my job's done. If not, let me know how to change it so it can make you sob.


	2. Notes

Alright, look, here's the deal: I made some adjustments to the story because A: I wasn't satisfied with it and B: it should have been more detailed. So here you go: a much better version of "The Green Fields of France".

I hope ya liked it.

By the way, here's a link to really good music video for the song. A student for his film class did it and it really brings to song to life.

.com/watch?v=sY6Wo0xle0I&feature=channel_page


End file.
